Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (965 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Glucose monitoring that measures interstitial glucose concentration continuously throughout the entire day and night. It does not replace traditional home blood glucose monitoring.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Glucose Monitoring, Continuous; Monitoring, Continuous Glucose; Monitorings, Continuous Glucose; Continuous Glucose Monitoring Device; CGM Device; CGM Devices; Device, CGM; Devices, CGM.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Blood Chemical Analysis; Diagnostic Techniques, Endocrine; Monitoring, Physiologic
Related concepts
- Glucose Monitoring
- Home Blood Glucose Monitoring
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 1,570 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Continuous Glucose Monitoring” (counts retrieved 2026-11-04). 1,570 of them (100.0%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 1,570 records.
Reviews account for 270 records (17.2%) and meta-analyses for 44. Randomized controlled trials number 174 (11.1%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up a comparatively large share of this literature, which means many treatment questions have been tested directly.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 0 |
| 2010-2019 | 0 |
| 2020 onward | 1,570 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 270 | 17.2% |
| Meta-analyses | 44 | 2.8% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 174 | 11.1% |
Method: PubMed query "Continuous Glucose Monitoring"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-11-04.
Reading the evidence in diagnostics and medical technology
A test or device is judged by how well it detects a condition, how often it gives false alarms or misses cases, and whether using it improves outcomes for people. Accuracy depends on who is tested and how common the condition is, so a test that performs well in a specialist hospital can perform differently in the community. Check the reference standard, the population studied, the sensitivity and specificity and whether results were confirmed in a separate group.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
Leveraging continuous glucose monitoring as a catalyst for behaviour change: a scoping review [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundAmidst the escalating prevalence of glucose-related chronic diseases, the advancements, potential uses, and growing accessibility of continuous glucose monitors (CGM) have piqued the interest of healthcare providers, consumers, and health behaviour researchers.
- Closing excerpt
- IO/SJREA.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (309 words)
BackgroundAmidst the escalating prevalence of glucose-related chronic diseases, the advancements, potential uses, and growing accessibility of continuous glucose monitors (CGM) have piqued the interest of healthcare providers, consumers, and health behaviour researchers. Yet, there is a paucity of literature characterising the use of CGM in behavioural intervention research. This scoping review aims to describe targeted populations, health behaviours, health-related outcomes, and CGM protocols in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that employed CGM to support health behaviour change.MethodsWe searched Ovid MEDLINE, Elsevier Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EBSCOhost PsycINFO, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global from inception to January 2024 for RCTs of behavioural interventions conducted in adults that incorporated CGM-based biological feedback. Citation searching was also performed. The review protocol was registered ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SJREA ).FindingsCollectively, 5389 citations were obtained from databases and citation searching, 3995 articles were screened, and 31 were deemed eligible and included in the review. Most studies (n = 20/31, 65%) included adults with type 2 diabetes and reported HbA1c as an outcome (n = 29/31, 94%). CGM was most commonly used in interventions to target changes in diet (n = 27/31, 87%) and/or physical activity (n = 16/31, 52%). 42% (n = 13/31) of studies provided prospective CGM-based guidance on diet or activity, while 61% (n = 19/31) included retrospective CGM-based guidance. CGM data was typically unblinded (n = 24/31, 77%) and CGM-based biological feedback was most often provided through the CGM and two-way communication (n = 12/31, 39%). Communication typically occurred in-person (n = 13/31, 42%) once per CGM wear (n = 13/31; 42%).ConclusionsThis scoping review reveals a predominant focus on diabetes in CGM-based interventions, pointing out a research gap in its wider application for behaviour change. Future research should expand the evidence base to support the use of CGM as a behaviour change tool and establish best practices for its implementation.Trial registrationdoi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SJREA.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 38987796 · DOI · PMC11238504
Summary of clinical investigation plan for The DIATEC trial: in-hospital diabetes management by a diabetes team and continuous glucose monitoring or point of care glucose testing - a randomised controlled trial [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundWorldwide, up to 20 % of hospitalised patients have diabetes mellitus.
- Closing excerpt
- gov with identification number NCT05803473 on March 27th 2023.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (246 words)
BackgroundWorldwide, up to 20 % of hospitalised patients have diabetes mellitus. In-hospital dysglycaemia increases patient mortality, morbidity, and length of hospital stay. Improved in-hospital diabetes management strategies are needed. The DIATEC trial investigates the effects of an in-hospital diabetes team and operational insulin titration algorithms based on either continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data or standard point-of-care (POC) glucose testing.MethodsThis is a two-armed, two-site, prospective randomised open-label blinded endpoint (PROBE) trial. We recruit non-critically ill hospitalised general medical and orthopaedic patients with type 2 diabetes treated with basal, prandial, and correctional insulin (N = 166). In both arms, patients are monitored by POC glucose testing and diabetes management is done by ward nurses guided by in-hospital diabetes teams. In one of the arms, patients are monitored in addition to POC glucose testing by telemetric CGM viewed by the in-hospital diabetes teams only. The in-hospital diabetes teams have operational algorithms to titrate insulin in both arms. Outcomes are in-hospital glycaemic and clinical outcomes.DiscussionThe DIATEC trial will show the glycaemic and clinical effects of in-hospital CGM handled by in-hospital diabetes teams with access to operational insulin titration algorithms in non-critically ill patients with type 2 diabetes. The DIATEC trial seeks to identify which hospitalised patients will benefit from CGM and in-hospital diabetes teams compared to POC glucose testing. This is essential information to optimise the use of healthcare resources before broadly implementing in-hospital CGM and diabetes teams.Trial registrationProspectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with identification number NCT05803473 on March 27th 2023.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 38711112 · DOI · PMC11071255
Fluorescent Chemosensors in the Creation of a Commercially Available Continuous Glucose Monitor [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Fully automated insulin delivery (i.
- Closing excerpt
- and Europe to provide accurate CGM for up to 365 days with a single sensor and can be integrated directly with an insulin pump, bringing an artificial pancreas one step closer to realization.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (152 words)
Fully automated insulin delivery (i.e., an artificial pancreas) would revolutionize diabetes disease management, minimize negative secondary disease outcomes, and simultaneously reduce health care costs and system burdens. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is an essential aspect of the artificial pancreas. Abiotic fluorescent chemosensors play a key role in generating long-lived CGM sensors for this purpose. In this Perspective, we detail our initial discoveries of chemosensors for saccharides, as well as the development and advancement of bis((o-aminomethylphenyl)boronic acid)anthracene-based sensors for commercial use. While a few companies have sought to bring a copolymerized diboronic acid CGM sensor to the market, Senseonics is the only one, to date, to have done so. In this case, the system has been approved in the U.S. and Europe to provide accurate CGM for up to 365 days with a single sensor and can be integrated directly with an insulin pump, bringing an artificial pancreas one step closer to realization.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 39584534 · DOI · PMC11686512
Effects of continuous glucose monitoring on physical activity and diet in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BACKGROUND: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) may facilitate behavior modifications among individuals with diabetes.
- Closing excerpt
- TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; CRD42024609764).
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (258 words)
BACKGROUND: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) may facilitate behavior modifications among individuals with diabetes. However, existing evidence regarding its effectiveness remains inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of CGM in improving physical activity and diet for people with diabetes using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science on October 13, 2024 to identify studies utilizing CGM in people of any age with any type of diabetes that reported outcomes related to physical activity and/or diet and were eligible for systematic review. Randomized controlled trials in which CGM was used as the main intervention and whose outcomes could be quantitatively synthesized were included in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: The initial search identified 13,128 records, then 28 studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Of these, 10 and 8 studies were included in the meta-analysis of physical activity and diet, respectively. Compared with controls, CGM significantly increased daily physical activity time (MD: 16.21 min/day, 95% CI: 10.26 to 22.16; P<0.0001) (low-certainty evidence). In addition, CGM significantly reduced daily caloric intake (-70.81 kcal/day, -132.93 to -8.69; P = 0.03) (low-certainty evidence) and carbohydrate consumption (-19.88 g/day, -27.74 to -12.01; P < 0.00001) (low-certainty evidence) versus controls. CONCLUSIONS: CGM significantly increased daily physical activity time and reduced both caloric intake and carbohydrate consumption in adults with diabetes. Future high-quality, large-scale randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm these associations and to clarify the mechanisms underlying CGM’s behavioral effects across diverse diabetes populations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; CRD42024609764).
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41566380 · DOI · PMC12918550
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems in Noninsulin-Treated People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials [5]
- Research article Effectiveness of Continuous Glucose Monitoring on Metrics of Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials [6]
- Research article Consensus Considerations and Good Practice Points for Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems in Hospital Settings [7]
- Research article Use of continuous glucose monitoring and point-of-care glucose testing in hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus in non-intensive care unit settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [8]
- Research article Continuous glucose monitoring in noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes: A critical review of reported trials with an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials [9]
- Research article Comparing the glycaemic outcomes between real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rt-CGM) and intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) among adults and children with type 1 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [10]
References
- Jospe MR, Richardson KM, Saleh AA, Bohlen LC, Crawshaw J, Liao Y, et al.. Leveraging continuous glucose monitoring as a catalyst for behaviour change: a scoping review. . 2024. PMID 38987796 · DOI · PMC11238504
- Olsen MT, Klarskov CK, Pedersen-Bjergaard U, Hansen KB, Kristensen PL. Summary of clinical investigation plan for The DIATEC trial: in-hospital diabetes management by a diabetes team and continuous glucose monitoring or point of care glucose testing - a randomised controlled trial. . 2024. PMID 38711112 · DOI · PMC11071255
- Czarnik AW, James TD. Fluorescent Chemosensors in the Creation of a Commercially Available Continuous Glucose Monitor. . 2024. PMID 39584534 · DOI · PMC11686512
- Peng M, Shen P, Kim KJ. Effects of continuous glucose monitoring on physical activity and diet in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. . 2026. PMID 41566380 · DOI · PMC12918550
- Ferreira ROM, Trevisan T, Pasqualotto E, Chavez MP, Marques BF, Lamounier RN, et al.. Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems in Noninsulin-Treated People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2024. PMID 38090767 · DOI
- Uhl S, Choure A, Rouse B, Loblack A, Reaven P. Effectiveness of Continuous Glucose Monitoring on Metrics of Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024. PMID 37987208 · DOI
- Shaw JLV, Bannuru RR, Beach L, ElSayed NA, Freckmann G, Füzéry AK, et al.. Consensus Considerations and Good Practice Points for Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems in Hospital Settings. Diabetes Care. 2024. PMID 39452893 · DOI · PMC12328255
- Cavalcante Lima Chagas G, Teixeira L, R C Clemente M, Cavalcante Lima Chagas R, Santinelli Pestana DV, Rodrigues Silva Sombra L, et al.. Use of continuous glucose monitoring and point-of-care glucose testing in hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus in non-intensive care unit settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2025. PMID 39798897 · DOI
- Aronson R, Abitbol A, Bajaj HS, Cheng AYY, Christopoulos S, Harris SB, et al.. Continuous glucose monitoring in noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes: A critical review of reported trials with an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2025. PMID 40757453 · DOI · PMC12515760
- Zhou Y, Sardana D, Kuroko S, Haszard JJ, de Block MI, Weng J, et al.. Comparing the glycaemic outcomes between real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rt-CGM) and intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) among adults and children with type 1 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabet Med. 2024. PMID 38197238 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
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